Tag Archives: Dylan Patrick

With my recent tutorial, The Cinematic Headshot with Dylan Patrick, I go over my entire process for shooting my cinematic style outdoors. As I have been a photographer that has never used a studio for my work, many have found this method of shooting very freeing. That said, sometimes you just can’t rely on the weather. In my latest post on Fstoppers I talk about my experience recreating the look indoors when I went to NYC the end of April to do a full week of headshot session. With 26 sessions booked there was no way to chance it with NYC’s fickle weather so we rented a large sun lit space at Shetler Studios. The photograph above of the lovely Amanda Berry was shot entirely indoors. Head over to Fstoppers.com to read more!

I’m flying out from LA, we rented the biggest space they had at Shetler Studio’s, and I’m going to be rocking headshots sessions all week until I can’t stand anymore! Unless of course someone hooks me up to a continuous IV of Bodega coffee, hero’s, and Redbull. Its going to be a blast, reserve your spot now, space is limited!

WHEN: April 26th-May 1st (Mon-Fri)

WHERE: The Penthouse at Shetler Studios

COST : $375, includes a one hour session, 4 looks, and all the images from the shoot in high res so you can take them to the awesome folks at Colorworksnyc for printing and retouching
a %50 NON REFUNDABLE deposit will be required to hold your space. (Those of you that have worked with me before know I generally don’t take deposits, but due to the travel, and reserving a space it just has to be this way)

The session is over…now what? In the final part of my series on setting up a successfull headshot session. I talk about my practices after a shoot to insure an awesome customer service experience. I talk about the power of word of mouth, reviewing your images, and delivering your images. I lead it off with a great shot of the awesomely talented Zach Sutton, of Zach Sutton Photography. Zach is another kick ass headshot photographer based in Albuquerque, NM. Zach flew out to LA recently just to get a headshot, we had an awesome time and I learned a lot from him. Actors in the New Mexico area better look this guy up! Head over to Fstoppers.com for the full article.

In part two of series on setting up a successful headshot session I talk about challenges we face while at a shoot. From skin issues to makeup to getting your client comfortable in front of the camera, I talk about it all. There are many things that can weigh on both a photographer, and the client confidence level. Working with confidence in anything you do can be the most important practice when running your business. Head over to Fstoppers.com for the full story.

It’s 2015…Time to change a few things

Most successful photographers I know keep their sanity by doing a lot of personal work along with their paid work. Finding a balance to those two things can be challenging. I have been fortunate in the sense that when I got my business started I began doing a fair amount of work right away, between my headshots and hotel jobs I was staying pretty busy. Which, on one hand, is awesome and I’m very fortunate. On the other it hasn’t left much time to truly execute my own idea’s. Now I place a lot of blame on myself, and one of my major goals for 2015 is to stop talking about the things I want to do and just do them. It can be hard. You are traveling and shooting and it all seems awesome until you hit a wall going “why the hell am I not shooting the ideas bouncing around in this tiny brain of mine?”. Aside from my own laziness there are several other possibilities, one of which is that I’m tired. Running your own business can be exhausting. Always searching for more clients, branding, looking for ways to better market yourself, more ways to earn, and with my big commercial hotel jobs sometimes the start to finish process of completing those jobs can take a month. I shoot a hotel for a week and come home and spend another 2-3 weeks editing everything. When you spend days editing it can be hard to break away. I’m very much an all or nothing person which can be great when it comes to getting stuff done, but very detrimental if I’m in the “nothing phase”. All of that stops now. I’ll be an all or nothing person for the rest of my life, but it’s time to make a change and make time for my own creative endeavors.

Feeling Stuck

It’s another challenge to overcome. Some days I just feel creatively stuck, and to be honest I have to real justification for it.I have plenty of opportunities not to be, and sometimes I think I just get lost in my own creative thoughts to the point that I just don’t know where to begin. Seems silly, and it is. There is a little guy inside me going “why don’t you start with getting outside with a camera dumbass”. All true. No more excuses. I think there comes a time in every creative’s journey where they feel like they are hitting a ceiling. I think these ceilings come in stages. You get a ceiling when the business is new and you are just starting to get steady work, and another when you are trying to figure out how to take your business to the next level. It’s time to pick up a sledgehammer and just start swinging.

Whats Coming

My goal for this year is two fold. On the hotel and architectural front, I want to obtain some more high end clients. I want to shoot some seriously sexy properties, and that means I might need to give away a bit of work to make it happen.

On the headshot front I’m going to push even harder in LA. I knew leaving NYC would come with a temporary drop in headshot sessions. While I’m not dead by any means, I’m not as busy as I was in NYC…to be expected, but word is spreading and it will take some time to build up even more clients.

On the personal front I’m going to be working on a project that includes both video and stills. The stills will be aimed at taking my portrait work into a more commercial zone, and working with video is something I have always wanted to do. It’s time to make it all happen. More to come.

In my newest article on Fstoppers.com I start a 3 part series on steps I believe can help ensure you create a successful headshot session. If you are a photographer who is just starting out, this is a must read. It is a culmination of many questions and conversations I’ve had regarding how I started, and what I do for each session. When I first began shooting headshots, it was a daunting task. Figuring out a rhythm for how a headshot session should go felt like an overwhelming problem. Head over to Fstoppers to read part one of this series.

Retouching Hotel Rooms

My latest article is up over at Fstoppers.com. I created a 2 hour video going through every step I take when I’m retouching a hotel room photograph. It’s fairly in-depth, and fairly long. I’ve had a lot of questions from other photographers about my process, so I figured this would be the easiest way. Feel free to check out the video below, and read the full article over at Fstoppers here. To see more of my hotel work visit Dylan Patrick Hospitality Photography

My first article, Investigating the Human Expression, is up on Fstoppers. I talk all about learning to see perceived thoughts, and emotions to make us better at capturing the best expressions from our clients. It’s the study and observation of people that I believe takes an “ok” portrait photographer to a great one. Sometimes we as photographers are self serving when choosing images for our portfolio. We want the best technical image, and sometimes we forget that a boring expression can kill the whole thing. The only thing that separates my style from everyone else is the moment I choose to press the shutter. Check out the full article over at Fstoppers.com

The Cinematic Headshot with Dylan Patrick tutorial is here!

If you are interested in learning about my shooting style and the techniques I use. Check out my tutorial over at Fstoppers! In this 6 hour tutorial I go over my entire shooting process with 3 different models. I then take you into the studio for the post production where you can follow along with 4 different RAW images, as I take you through my entire post production workflow. Check out the promo video below if you are interested! If you’d like to know more about the gear I use, along with more affordable options check out my gear page at Fstoppers. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me!

Commercial Real Estate Photography

I had the recent opportunity to work with a local commercial real estate broker here in Los Angeles, to deliver some high quality storefront photos for his clients. He and his clients are both extremely happy, and while they did say they had never spent that much for exterior shots before, they felt they could begin to brand themselves around the look, and that the money was worth every penny to have something sexy and different than what people are used to seeing. I’m looking forward to working with them again, it’s so nice to have a client that gets it, and is willing to invest in a polished, refined, high end look. To view more visit Dylan Patrick Hospitality Photography